Telematics units enable a service provider to communicate with a mobile vehicle without any intervention required by the operator of the mobile vehicle. Telematics units can receive data from and be configured by a remote call center as necessary.
Recall notifications typically are communicated by a letter sent to the mobile vehicle's registered owner. A phone call or email to the registered owner is also used when the recall involves possible damage to the mobile vehicle. In addition, a recall may affect vehicle handling or the operation of a critical system within the vehicle such as the lighting, braking or transmission system. In these situations expedient notification is necessary to alert the owner of the potential problem posed by the recall.
Recall notification is an expensive and time consuming activity. In addition, a mobile vehicle subject to a recall that is not repaired or attended to in a timely manner can be damaged further. This additional damage to the mobile vehicle results in increased repair costs for the manufacturer issuing the recall.
Currently, there is no expeditious method to alert an owner or operator of a mobile vehicle of the recall and potential problems as soon as the recall is identified. A call can be placed to a wireless phone in the vehicle but there is no way to assure that the owner or operator will be in the vehicle to receive the call. Once at the vehicle, the owner or operator may not access phone messages before operating the vehicle and therefore be unaware of potential problems posed by the recall.
It is therefore desirable to provide a method and system for providing an automated recall notification that overcomes the limitations, challenges, and obstacles described above.